Operation Christmas Joy to take over Plains and Paradise
<p>Pat Farmer and Sandi Lane put together the entry boxes for the new Christmas lights competition. The competition will be put on by volunteers of the Plains Woman's Club.</p>
PLAINS/PARADISE – Operation Christmas Joy is about to take over the towns of both Plains and Paradise, lighting the skies for a newly founded contest.
As the holiday season begins, both communities will be awash in lights and holiday spirit by this time next month as volunteers from the Plains Woman’s Club launch their first outdoor residential Christmas lights contest.
The mission is to “promote joy and friendly competition between residents during Christmas time.”
Sandi Lane, president elect of the Plains Woman’s Club, said the contest aims to bring the communities an increased “hometown feel.” Lane said the contest would be a good compliment to the lighting at the fairgrounds.
As the project was put together, Lane said the community embraced it.
“Support for the effort has been nothing short of enthusiastic with a number of businesses and several individuals donating cash, gift certificates, or goods,” said Lane.
As an added bonus, several residents have decided to decorate the inside of their homes. The Plains Woman’s Club will include the addresses of the homes on the map depicting the lit up homes.
“These homes will not be judged for the interior decorations but promise to be a fun part of the Christmas lights experience,” Lane said.
Maps of the lit homes will be made available at the kickoff event, which will take place on Sunday, December 15 at 4 p.m. at McGowan’s Grocery. Hot chocolate will be provided and the possibility of caroling is in the air.
The contest will be judged on the same day between the hours of 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Judging will be based on originality, theme and the spirit of Christmas.
The entry deadline for the contest is set for noon on Thursday, December 12 and winners of the contest will be contacted by Tuesday, December 17. Winners will be announced in the Valley Press that same week.
Prizes for the top three houses will be awarded in Chamber script. First place will receive $150 while second will receive $75 and third will receive $50.
“The goal of the Chamber script is to keep the money local. We didn’t want someone to win and then take their money (elsewhere),” said Lane. “We wanted to really promote the local businesses and encourage them.”
Even if an entrant does not place in the top three, a chance to win other prizes will be made available.
“Contestants who do not win one of the top three prizes will have their names put back in a special drawing for gift certificates and/or other fun prizes,” said Lane.
If the contest is deemed successful, the hope is to grow the contest in future years to come.
Official rules and entry forms will be available throughout many of the local merchants in Plains with at least 12 entry boxes spread across town.
Entry forms can be dropped off at participating businesses, can be mailed to Plains Woman’s Club at PO Box 813, Plains, MT 59859 or participants are able to register on the event’s Facebook page.
For more information, contact Sandi Lane at 396-2631 or check out the event page on Facebook: Operation Christmas Joy: Outdoor Christmas Lights Contest 2013.